Empathy
by doomweasel
Summary: Chapter four is up and the first chapter was revised to make Dax more IC. Rating upped to M just to be on the safe side. Summary: Though Jak has defeated the Baron, he must still contend with the legacy of the Dark Soldier project.
1. chapter one

This is my first Jak & Dax fic, so we'll see how it turns out. If it's no good, then I won't continue it. It's set between Jak II and III – sort of my own idea of why Jak got banished from Haven City, since I thought the game's reason was craptacular. Please, if there are any inaccuracies, point them out! It will help a lot!

* * *

He had first noticed it soon after he'd defeated Baron Praxis; while walking through the slums, a shiver coursed through Jak's body like a mild electric current. A few days later, Jak felt it again, this time by the wharf. Several days after he defeated Kor, Jak felt the tremor again as he and Ashelin left the palace to meet with two ambassadors arriving from another city. It lasted only a second, and by the time he turned it was gone, as was whoever or whatever caused it.

"Somethin' the matter, Jak?" Daxter asked from his usual perch atop Jak's shoulder.

"Yeah, I… did you… never mind," Jak muttered. "It's nothing." However, Jak recognized the sensation – he had the first time he'd felt it. The dark Eco inside him, the residue from that bastard Praxis's experiments, was reacting to something. Jak rolled his shoulders and rubbed his chest absently as he climbed into the palace transport ship behind Ashelin. Usually the Eco caused just a constant ache, but every so often it flared up in one part of his body or another. Jak rubbed his chest again, and the sharp pain subsided slightly. He looked out the window at the streets as they slid by below him, teeming with people of every shape and size. They looked like ants crawling blindly around, repeating the same mindless tasks day after day. Did those people have any idea what Jak and his friends were going through to ensure that they live out their pointless little lives?

"Governess," the pilot said suddenly, "we've got an incoming call from squad K – top priority."

"Take it," Ashelin ordered.

A burst of static filled the cabin momentarily and then cleared. "Governess, we have a situation," the squad leader said over the tinny speaker. "Twenty KGs and two blast 'bots have taken four hostages in industrial district seven-B. Requesting your assistance."

"Damn," Ashelin swore under her breath. "Are they making any demands?"

"Only that they speak to you – directly. Your orders, ma'am?"

Ashelin cursed again. "Try to contain it as best you can. Do not fire – I repeat, _do not fire _– unless they try to leave the area. Jak and I will be there as soon as we can. Out." She closed the channel and turned to Jak. "We've got ourselves our first hostage situation."

"Sounds like fun," Jak replied dryly.

Daxter groaned. "Lemme guess. More guns, explosions, and impending death?"

"Wouldn't _that_ be easy?"

"If we're lucky," Ashelin retorted, "We won't have to use any blaster ammo today." She signaled to the pilot. "Head for ID seven-B. And send a message to Ambassadors Riddik and Jin that we won't be able to greet them at their arrival." The pilot nodded and the transport lurched to the left as he changed course. Ashelin rubbed her temples with frustration. "Why can't things go our way – just for once? Is that too much to ask?" She sighed. "Let's just hope we can negotiate with them."

"If we let them off now, they'll just come back and attack us again later," Jak said, returning his gaze to the city below them.

"We don't have much choice in the matter. If we let those hostages die, then we'll be no better than my… than the Baron was."

Jak glanced at Ashelin when he heard her remark. He kept forgetting that when he'd defeated Praxis, he'd also killed her father. Though Ashelin obviously wanted to distance herself from dear ol' Dad as much as possible, Jak still feared an underlying resentment towards him for what he'd done. Before he could reply, though, they reached the front line. The transport ship came to an abrupt halt and they hopped to the ground as the doors opened. Ashelin ordered the pilot to pull back, and as he complied the unit commander – a former Krimzon Guard whose armor had been hastily painted blue – saluted briskly.

"What's the situation?" Ashelin snapped.

"Hasn't changed, Governess," the commander replied. "You can see the four civilians – three female and one male – by the blast 'bots there. KGs are surrounding them and are taking potshots at our boys. If we try to take out the 'bots before moving in on the KGs, the explosion will kill the hostages."

"Not to worry," Daxter smirked, "Haven City's top negotiator is here. I've got a silver tongue and brains to match it."

The commander glanced at Daxter, decided the small creature wasn't worth his attention, and turned to Jak and Ashelin.

"Snipers?" Ashelin asked.

"We've got four boys up and three more are coming. We should have the area completely covered once they get here. Give 'em thirty seconds and they'll take out every KG here – except the 'bots, of course."

"Excellent."

"As soon as those snipers fire," Jak interrupted, "the blast 'bots will lock on to their position and blow them away."

"We realize that, sir," the squad leader replied. Was that a hint of contempt in his voice? "They're stationed as a last resort."

Before Jak could respond, Daxter clambered up the back of his blue tunic and perched atop his shoulder. "Alrighty then," he drawled. "Should we head on over and talk to the head honcho? Smoke a peace pipe with 'em or something?"

"Things are going to get very complicated, very fast," Ashelin said as she quickly checked the clip on her pistol. She thrust a slender finger at Daxter's narrow chest. "_Don't_ make any sudden moves. Got it?"

"Heeey, don't sweat it, babe. It's _me_, remember?"

"_That's_ what I'm worried about. Let's go."

The former Krimzon Guards – on both sides – kept their rifles at the ready as Jak and Ashelin stepped onto the empty street between the two groups. After only a few seconds, the turrets on the blast 'bots swiveled, and a bright dot of light focused on Jak and Ashelin's chests. Immediately they froze. "Call your 'bots off," Ashelin shouted. "We've come to negotiate, just as you requested."

One of the KGs, wearing the yellow armor of an elite soldier, stepped forward. "Drop your weapons and stay where you are," he barked.

Reluctantly, Jak and Ashelin obeyed. As Jak's gun clattered to the ground, that familiar tingling sensation rippled through his body. That made twice in one day! Instinctively he whipped his head around in a desperate attempt to locate the source.

"You! Freeze!" the Krimzon elite hollered. Every rifle was now pointed squarely at Jak.

"I _told_ you, no sudden movements!" Ashelin hissed, her hands in the air.

"And you were worried about _me_," Daxter snorted.

Jak paid no attention to either of them. Though he dared not turn his head, he scanned the whole area with his eyes. _Whatever is making my body react, it's still here,_ he thought. _It's not going away this time._ Could the KGs have some dark Eco with them? Jak certainly wouldn't put it past them. But how would that explain all the other times…?

"We just want to talk," Ashelin said slowly and clearly. "Tell us what we have to do to get those people back safely."

"What – these ingrates?" the KG elite scoffed, kicking at one of the bound and trembling women. "Nothing less than your relinquishment of the city – to the Krimzon Guard, of course."

"That's a mighty tall order," Ashelin growled, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Yeah," Daxter chimed in from atop Jak's shoulder, "especially coming from a miserable bunch of losers like you guys."

"Are you sure you want to be saying that?" the KG elite asked, pressing the barrel of his rifle against a hostage's temple.

"If we give in to your demands, even more people will die," Jak said suddenly, forcing his attention back to the situation at hand. However, his skin still crawled uncomfortably.

"He's right," Ashelin agreed. "How can you expect –"

The tingling sensation suddenly disappeared. Jak glanced up reflexively and saw a flash of red on top of a building. He immediately realized what the Krimzon Guards were trying to do. "It's a trap!" he yelled, and he dove for his gun.

In the next instant the area erupted with gunfire as the KGs hidden on the rooftops let loose on Jak, Ashelin, and their men. _Where are the snipers?_ Jak wondered, then realized that the ambush party probably killed them long ago.

"Jak! The hostages!" Ashelin yelled, taking cover behind a utility box.

"I know!" Now that their trap was sprung, the KGs didn't care whether the civilians lived or died and ignored them as thoroughly as rocks in the street. The biggest danger facing the hostages now wasn't their captors, but friendly fire from their alleged rescuers. Jak would have to be quick. He took aim at the nearest Guard, but a burst of fire from the spider 'bots sent him scrambling for cover. _Shit. Those things need to be taken out now._ Jak tossed his gun to Daxter. "Cover me, Dax!" he ordered.

"Yipe! Gimme a little more of a head's-up, willya?" the ottsel yelped in reply, fumbling as he tried to catch the large gun. He hopped onto a nearby water pipe. "Wait a sec – what exactly are you…?"

Jak was no longer listening. As he stepped out into the open, he let the anger and darkness inside him build, feeding it, letting it consume him entirely until there was nothing left but rage and hatred. Then the changes began. His skin became pale as death, his nails lengthened into vicious claws, and his green eyes clouded until they were black and cold as opals. One of the KGs spotted him and shouted, "It's that Eco freak!" Before the soldier could even bring his rifle up, Jak was upon him.

With a ferocious snarl, Jak hurled the Guard against the side of the building as easily as though he were a rag doll. He hit the brick wall with a sickening wet crunch and crumpled to the ground, either dead or merely unconscious – Jak didn't really care which, since he was already looking for his next target. In the span of four seconds, Jak killed five more KGs. Thanks to the supporting fire from Daxter and Ashelin's men, there were only ten left – not counting the ambush party and the two blast 'bots. Jak had grabbed another Guard and had ripped the man's arm mostly off before the rational portion of Jak's mind forced the anger into submission and regained control. _The hostages…_ He tossed the screaming soldier aside and looked for the civilians.

One was already dead, having been mowed down by the blast 'bots as she tried to escape. Another was lying on the ground, moaning with pain, having been caught in the crossfire. He was good as dead, Jak figured. Nimbly dodging laser fire from the 'bots, Jak bounded over to the surviving two hostages, who'd wisely stayed put between the machines' legs. Ignoring their screams of terror at his fearsome appearance, Jak grabbed the two women and roughly slung them over his shoulder before sprinting back to his men, barely evading the machines' shots.

The converted Guardsmen recoiled as Jak skidded to a halt before them. "Take them, dammit!" he roared angrily, and two men quickly complied. Once the women were safe – at least safer than they had been moments before – Jak leaped into the thick of the battle once more and made straight for the blast 'bots.

Still crouched behind a utility box, Ashelin squeezed off a few shots before being forced to take cover again. "Jak!" she cried when she saw him dart with animal-like speed towards the 'bots. "Pull back! Reinforcements are coming! Wait until they get here! _Jak!_"

Naturally, Jak ignored her. Dodging another burst of shots from the blast 'bots, he leapt high into the air and slammed down on the turret of the nearest one, crumpling the thick armor like a soda can. Sparks flew everywhere, singeing Jak's face and hands, as the machine staggered like a wounded beast. The second 'bot's gun swiveled around and locked on to Jak. With a snarl Jak leapt away, but the 'bot's AI predicted his trajectory and kept the laser sight firmly centered on his back.

Before it could fire, however, the self-destruct protocol in the damaged blast 'bot detonated the explosives packed inside it. A moment later the second 'bot exploded, its already-weakened armor unable to withstand the massive heat and sheer force, and the dual explosions ripped through the street.

There was a brief lull in the firefight between Ashelin's men and the KG resistance, both because the massive explosions surprised everybody and virtually all the Krimzon Guards on the ground were killed instantly. Daxter, perched atop the rusted water pipe, coughed and squinted in the thick smoke and dust. "Jak?" he shouted, his voice hoarse. "Jak! You all right? Where are ya, man?" A hulking, shadowy figure materialized in the smoke; Daxter gulped nervously and took aim at it even as he called out, "Is that you, buddy?"

The shadow solidified into Jak, now returned to his normal form, carrying the male hostage – who looked in only slightly worse condition than Jak himself. Jak set down the bleeding and unconscious civilian behind a support pillar, which offered the only protection around. Jak's face contorted in a grimace as he then pulled out a four-inch-long piece of shrapnel that had partially embedded itself in his arm.

As Jak ripped the hem of his tunic into strips to make bandages for the ex-hostage, Daxter noticed that Jak's hands were shaking violently. "Are you okay, Jak?"

"I'm fine," Jak snapped. "It didn't go in that deep. Now keep watch, willya?"

Daxter flattened his ears against his head and his brows furrowed. Why was Jak angry with _him?_ "I meant… I meant the dark Eco. I know it hurts when –"

"For Mar's sake, will you _shut up and watch my back already!_"

Flinching at his friend's harsh tone, Daxter turned and started scanning the area. Suddenly, a shot from a KG rifle whizzed by his ear, making him jump a foot in the air. Daxter gingerly felt the scorched hairs on the side of his head. "Oh, that _does_ it!" he growled. "All right, who did that!" he demanded angrily. "Who did that? Do you have any idea how long it takes to style my fur! You're gonna get it!" A spot of red appeared on a rooftop across the way as a Krimzon Guard popped up to take another shot. But before he could fire, a blast from above took the KG down.

A blue Hellcat swooped by, Torn at the wheel. Five more Hellcats followed, all painted a dark blue. "Hey! Tattooed Wonder! It's about freakin' _time_ you showed up!" Daxter hollered at Torn, shaking his tiny fist and hopping up and down with anger. "What happened – you sleep in or something? Jeez, if you're gonna come late, then don't bother showing up at all!"

If Torn heard, he didn't care; Daxter watched, still somewhat annoyed, as the Hellcats efficiently brought the minor rebellion and attempted assassination of the Governess to an abrupt and unceremonious end.

* * *

Woohoo. Expect a major angst-fest in later chapters! Yay! Angst! 


	2. chapter two

Thank you everybody for your comments – they really do help. I'll try to make Dax more in-character, but to tell the truth it's harder than I thought. --b So those guys are called the Freedom League Guard, eh? That's a mouthful; what genius came up with that? But thanks for letting me know!

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"There you go," the doctor said as he put the finishing touches on Jak's bandage. "Just lay off of your arm for a week or so and you should be okay."

"Thanks," Jak replied, standing and flexing his arm experimentally. His mouth twitched from the stabs of pain coming from the wound.

"I'm sorry I can't give you painkillers," the doctor continued as he washed his hands off in a stainless steel sink, "but if I do that, then you're liable to overuse your arm and cause even more damage. You'll just have to bear with it."

"It's okay." Jak was used to pain by now.

"Now, don't you have somewhere to be?"

Jak cursed silently. He knew very well that the ambassadors were waiting for him, but frankly he hated politics of any sort. As the heir to the throne, Jak _technically_ was the ruler of Haven City, but Ashelin, the democratically elected Governess, did virtually all of the decision-making and was the one really in power. Jak preferred it that way, but in some cases he had to do more than just act as a figurehead.

Glancing down at his clothes, Jak cursed once again and headed out to the hallway. He had been wearing one of his best outfits, but now it was covered in dust and blood – not to mention all the tears in the expensive fabric. He'd have to go back to his room and change. Ashelin would be angry with him for being even later than usual, but it was that or showing up looking like a refugee. She'd probably be even angrier if Jak did that, so he decided to go with the lesser of two evils.

As he neared his quarters, Jak heard a familiar voice inside. "Hey there, sugar. You handle that broomstick pretty well, if ya know what I mean."

Jak shook his head and rolled his eyes. _Daxter..._ He entered his room to find the cute redheaded maid who usually cleaned his rooms trying to ignore Daxter, who was lying on Jak's bed with his head resting in his hands. "What would Tess think if she heard you talking like that to another woman?" Jak asked with mock severity, his hands on his hips.

"Uaaagh! Jak!" Daxter jumped to his feet. "I was… uh… just waiting for ya!"

"Come back later," Jak told the maid, who curtsied slightly before gathering up her supplies and silently exiting.

Daxter watched her leave and took a deep breath. "Ah," he sighed contentedly. "The wind that blows through this place is blessed with the sweet scent of spring. What a wonderful place to live!" He threw his arms in the air and fell backwards on the soft bed.

Jak rolled his eyes again at his friend's antics and started changing. He didn't have much in the way of fancy clothes – he much preferred his old tunic – but after a bit of searching he found what seemed to be an old military uniform. It was blue, much like Jak's usual outfit, with gold buttons and yellow epaulets. Jak scrounged up a pair of tailored white pants with blue stripes running down the sides and put those on as well. Looking in the mirror, Jak's new outfit was similar enough to his normal threads that he was satisfied. He turned to Daxter and bent over so the ottsel could climb onto his shoulder. "Let's go, Dax."

Daxter hesitated for a second. "It _is_ okay if I, y'know, ride along?"

"Of course it is! Why?"

Tapping his two index fingers together, Daxter said, "Wellll, I dunno if you're gonna bite my freakin' head off – _again._" He gave Jak a reproachful look.

Jak sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. That's right – he'd snapped at Daxter earlier, hadn't he? Damn, he really was an idiot. "Look, Dax, I… I'm sorry. It's just… it gets hard sometimes. You wouldn't understand."

"Apology accepted!" Daxter chirped, immediately forgetting any ill will and leaping onto Jak's shoulder. He felt the epaulet admiringly. "Ooooooh, velvet. I'm riding in style today! And check it out!" He tugged at the corners of a tiny bow tie fastened around his neck. "Tess made it for me – it's a snap-on. Ain't it classy?" Wiggling his eyebrows devilishly, Daxter added, "And you know what they say about guys who wear bow ties."

"Who?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

The duo headed to the reception hall where they would meet the ambassadors. When they arrived, Ashelin was waiting outside the door for them, dressed in a much more conservative uniform than usual. "You're late!" she whispered angrily. "Torn and the Council are already in there!"

"Sorry 'bout that, toots," Daxter said. "Jak here was dawdling – busy flirting with the maid and all that." He ignored Jak's dirty look and flashed an innocent smile.

"Well, come on! They're waiting for you!" Ashelin opened the door and literally shoved Jak inside.

Fortunately, Jak caught his balance before falling on his face. He stood and looked around the room, assessing the situation. Everybody was standing, holding drinks and chatting like it was some sort of cocktail party. Torn stood to one side, looking as uncomfortable in his dress uniform as Jak felt. The members of the City Council, whom Jak knew but wasn't exactly friendly with, conversed with each other easily; they were in their element. There were two faces that Jak recognized only from photographs: Ambassadors Riddik and Jin. Jak already knew a little about them – like the fact that they were both around four times his age, though the woman, Jin, had aged much better than her male counterpart. In all, Jak and Daxter were easily the youngest in the room. _Well_, Jak thought, _won't this be exciting._

"Oooh! _Hors d'oeuvres!_" Daxter leapt offJak's shoulder and made a beeline for a long table laden with all sorts of food. Jak had half a mind to follow him and make sure he didn't stuff his face too much, but just then Ashelin caught his wrist and led him over to where Riddik chatted with a Councilmember.

"Ambassador," she announced, "this is Jak, heir to the throne of Haven City."

"Absolutely delightful," the bent old man replied in a creaky voice, shaking Jak's hand with surprising vigor. It was obvious Riddik had once been a big man, but time had withered his frame until he was just a ghost of what he used to be. "It's simply wonderful to meet you." He raised a bushy eyebrow with curiosity. "You're looking a little worse for wear, my boy. A result of today's 'incident,' I presume?"

Jak gingerly felt his cut lip with his tongue. "Uh… yeah." His skin was tingling again, though not nearly as much as earlier today. In fact, Jak had noticed it as soon as he'd walked into the room. What the hell was going on? Did this Riddik guy have some dark Eco with him, or was there something wrong with Jak? Maybe he was sick or something, making the Eco inside him go haywire…

"Oh my!" Riddik said suddenly, flinching. He fished through his clothes and pulled out a small amulet hanging from a thin gold chain. "This thing hasn't gone off in ages. Scared me half to death, it did." He held it up for Jak to see. The amulet was little more than a glass vial shaped like an octagonal prism with carved metal caps on both ends. Inside the vial, a dark purple liquid seethed and churned, giving off an eerie phosphorescent glow.

"That's dark Eco!" Jak blurted out, surprised.

"Quite right, young Jak," Riddik replied with a smile. "Back when I was a boy, this nifty device warned me when Metal Heads were about. They have dark Eco in their veins, you see, and when they come close the Eco in this vial reacts." He paused, watching Daxter climb onto Jak's shoulder with a half-eaten miniature quiche in hand. When Daxter was settled and started munching contentedly on the quiche again, Riddik continued. "These caps are made of a particular metal that conducts the energy from the Eco's reaction as heat, and when you wear this against your skin you feel it instantly. The closer the Metal Heads are, the hotter it gets." He touched the amulet and immediately jerked his hand away. "My goodness! It's reacting as though a Metal Head was right in this room!"

"That's probably just Dark Boy here," Daxter remarked, patting Jak on the head. "He's full of that dark Eco crap."

"Is that so?" Riddik asked slowly, looking Jak up and down as if he were an unfamiliar – and potentially dangerous – animal.

_Great_, Jak thought. _Now he thinks I'm some sort of crazed circus freak._

"Sure is," Daxter answered between mouthfuls of egg and cheese. "Courtesy of the wonderfully deceased Baron, of course. He –"

"That's enough, Dax," Jak reprimanded quietly. For once, Daxter obeyed and fell silent, save for the chewing noises as he finished off the quiche.

Riddik's expression changed from wary curiosity to amazement. "By the Precursors," he breathed. "Are you telling me that there really was a Dark Soldier program? We'd heard rumors that the Baron was attempting such a thing, but we never confirmed that he actually…"

"It was real." Jak clenched and unclenched his fists unconsciously. "Believe me."

"By the Precursors," Riddik repeated, still in minor shock. He turned and motioned to Jin, who was deep in an intense discussion with Ashelin. "Jin! Jin, my dear, come quickly! You must learn something!"

Jin covered up her annoyance almost instantly. She excused herself from Ashelin and walked over, her measured stride showing none of her age. "Yes, _Ambassador _Riddik? What is it that's so important?"

"This boy, Jak – I mean, His Majesty, the heir to the throne – was a subject in Baron Praxis's Dark Soldier program!" Riddik patted Jak's arm with excitement as he spoke and his eyes shone.

"Is that right?" Jin leveled a stern gaze on Jak; she had steely gray eyes and a look to match them. "How come we've never learned of this before? This visit certainly isn't the first time our cities have communicated since the Baron's fall."

"It's not exactly a part of our history that we're proud of," Jak replied steadily, careful to keep his temper in check.

"No doubt. Human experimentation with any sort of Eco is extremely painful and highly illegal under international law. Though I will have to investigate the matter further, make no mistake that the Dark Soldier program will factor into our trade negotiations, regardless."

"Duly noted," Daxter quipped. Jak inwardly cringed, waiting for the inevitable insult, but Daxter was just barely able to hold it back; even he recognized the folly in offending a visiting dignitary.

Jin cocked an eyebrow at the talking ottsel, then turned on her heel and returned to where Ashelin waited.

"Brrrrr!" Daxter shivered once Jin was safely out of earshot. "Is it cold in here, or is it just her?"

"Please, don't be put off by Jin's… formality," Riddik said. "She highly values etiquette and ceremony in this line of work, which is entirely understandable, really. There are many governments who appreciate such decorum."

"Hey, whatever floats their boat," Daxter shrugged. He pulled out another miniature quiche – where he'd been keeping it, Jak didn't want to know – and immediately set to work devouring it. "Frankly, the whole 'Ice Queen' act turns me off. Might as well sit on a block of ice. Have you tried these things, Jak?" He waved the remains of the egg-and-cheese creation in Jak's face. "They're great!"

Jak pushed Daxter's hand away. "Ambassador –"

"Please, just 'Riddik' will suffice."

"Riddik… can I see that amulet again?"

The old ambassador held the vial out. As Jak reached for it, the Eco inside churned and frothed while a low hum started emitting from it. Suddenly, a bolt of purple energy flew from the amulet to Jak's hand, startling him. Riddik frowned and peered at the vial. "Hmm… I suppose the Eco in your system is too much for it to handle direct contact. So terribly sorry."

"Wait…" Jak looked up at Daxter as an idea dawned upon him.

Daxter noticed his friend's expression right away. "No, no, no!" he protested, holding up his hands. "I'm never, _ever_ touching any dark Eco again! Bad things always manage to happen!"

"Dax, you're not even actually _touching _the Eco. It's perfectly safe… right?" Jak glanced at Riddik for reassurance.

"Quite safe," Riddik replied. "I've carried it nearly all my life."

"Just for a little bit, Dax. C'mon, please?"

Contorting with displeasure, Daxter nonetheless reached out and grabbed the gold chain between two fingers, as if it were a soiled diaper or something equally foul. "You _do_ realize that this thing is going to be really, really hot whenever you're around?" he asked. "I might singe my carefully styled 'do!"

"Can we borrow it for a few days?" Jak asked Riddik, ignoring Daxter's complaints. "There's something in the city I need to find, and I think that thing will help."

Riddik thought for a moment and then smiled. "Keep it, my boy – as a gift. A gesture of goodwill, if you wish." He leaned in and whispered mock-conspiratorially, "I really don't need it anymore, anyway. Sentimental value and whatnot."

"Thanks. Whoa!" He flinched as the red-hot metal on the amulet nearly grazed his face. "Careful, Dax! Go put that away somewhere!"

"With pleasure," Daxter muttered, hopping off Jak's shoulder and jogging away, still holding the trinket as far away from his body as possible.

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A crappy place to end a chapter, but I'm getting desperate here. Umm… yeah, this chapter isn't nearly as exciting as the first, I'll admit, but I think it's more important in terms of characters and plot development. Did Daxter sound more… Daxter-ish? You know the drill – review review review. Thanks!

Oh yeah, and a side note: from what I can tell, the countries in Jak's world are more city-states where a "country" consists of a single city and the surrounding area. Why else was the Baron able to get away with all that crap? He was in control of just one city. I'm pretty sure that's a reasonable conclusion, but if anyone can difinitively give me evidence to the contrary - _valid_ evidence - I welcome it.


	3. chapter three

Tada, here it is. Sorry I took so long – school and whatnot. Damn life, getting in my way… Anywho, I really hated that last chapter. Let's see if I can make this one any better.

* * *

"Whew!" Daxter sighed, his breath clouding slightly in the cool night air. "It's about freakin' time we got outta there! There were more stiffs at that party than the city morgue – know what I'm saying?"

Jak silently agreed. What Ashelin had described as a "short 'get-to-know-you' event" turned out to last several hours. Though Jak understood that this visit was extremely important for trade relations and that everyone needed to put his best foot forward, wasn't this a little unnecessary? Couldn't they just say, "Hi, nice to meet you, now let's get down to business?" Jak shook his head. There was a reason he politics – in all its incarnations.

Before Jak loomed an enormous Ottsel, illuminated by floodlights. He couldn't help but smile at the ridiculousness of it, though he saw it nearly every day. The door to the Naughty Ottsel slid open and they entered, the cool night air immediately replaced by a warm, if not a little stuffy, atmosphere. "Now _this_ is more like it!" Daxter sighed, his eyes feasting on the familiar surroundings.

The Naughty Ottsel was nearly empty at this hour, save for two off-duty Freedom League Guards, their helmets resting beside them, who sat at the bar and nursed mugs of beer. They gave Jak a casual, though respectful, salute as he entered, which he acknowledged with a brief nod. As they crossed the room, Tess suddenly popped up from behind the counter, where she'd been unpacking a crate. When she saw Jak – or, more specifically, the small orange creature on his shoulder – a wide grin stretched across her face. "Daxter!" she squealed.

"Tess, baby!" Daxter replied, leaping from Jak's shoulder to the counter. "Gimme some love, sugar!" He thrust his backside towards Tess, who giggled and started scratching the base of his tail. The two Guards stared at Daxter and Tess incredulously, but Daxter ignored them and promptly began regaling Tess with tales of the hardships he'd endured that day.

Ignoring Daxter's complaining and Tess's sympathetic noises, Jak helped himself to a small glass of beer and leaned against the bar, staring at the grotesque Metal Head skulls mounted on the wall across from him. He was responsible for a lot of those trophies, though Sig took credit for the majority of them. Jak sipped his drink absently as his thoughts wandered. There hadn't been a Metal Head attack for some time; Jak wondered why. Even though Kor was dead, Jak thought that the survivors would still make sort of last stand, akin to the Krimzon Guards'. Strange…

Jak heard his name mentioned and snapped back to attention. "…and it gets insanely hot whenever Jak's around, so I don't know how he expects me to carry it without burning all my wonderful fur off," Daxter finished, gesticulating grandly. By now the two Guardsmen had left, leaving just Jak, Tess, and Daxter.

"I'll leave you guys alone for a bit," Jak said, setting his glass down. It was more for his benefit than theirs.

"No no no, Jak – you gotta stay here, buddy," Daxter protested. "What's a hero without his trusty sidekick always with him?"

Jak raised an eyebrow skeptically; whom did Daxter consider the "hero" and the "sidekick," he wondered? "I just need some fresh air," he answered. "You guys keep… uh… talking." He quickly walked outside before Daxter could say anything more, rubbing the back of his neck. Blasted dark Eco was flaring up again; sometimes all the aches and pains made Jak feel like a damn old man.

The streets were nearly deserted at this time of night, and most of the traffic that was around consisted of FLG Hellcats and personnel carriers. Jak hugged himself a little in the cold and stared out over the harbor pensively. So much had happened in the past few years that he was still struggling to sort it all out in his head. Had it really been only three years since he'd left his village? It seemed like decades ago…

A zoomer came to a rumbling halt in front of the Naughty Ottsel and a young woman with bluish hair hopped off. "Jak! I was hoping I'd find you here," Keira grinned, walking up to Jak. "I finished the repairs on your JET-board."

She handed the board to Jak, who examined it briefly before shrinking it and slinging it over his back. "Thanks."

"Honestly, Jak, what do you do to that thing? It shouldn't be wearing out as fast as it is."

"Hey, it's not my fault the board can't keep up with me," Jak quipped with a lopsided smile.

"Hmm. Maybe you're just expecting too much from it." Keira flipped up the collar of her leather bomber-style jacket and shivered. "How can you stand being outside without a coat on? Why aren't you inside?"

"Dax and Tess are in there," Jak replied, though it was only half of the answer.

"Oooh." Keira understood immediately. She stood next to Jak and looked over the harbor as well. After a moment of comfortable silence, she said, "I heard about what happened today in the industrial district. Are you okay?"

Jak rolled his eyes. Why were people always asking him that? "Yeah. "

Keira sighed with mild exasperation. "That's _not_ what I meant. I meant – "

"I _know_ what you meant, all right? And how 'okay' do you _think_ I – " Jak stopped himself, realizing that he was losing his temper again. He mentally kicked himself. That was the second time today! "Look," he sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you…"

"No, not at _me,_" Keira replied curtly. Jak wondered precisely what she meant by that. "Come on. Let's go inside, okay?" She put her hand on Jak's wounded arm; he repressed a flinch at the bolt of pain and let her lead him back into the Naughty Ottsel.

Tess and Daxter looked up at their entrance and shouted out hearty welcomes to Keira, who replied with equal warmth. They began chatting animatedly about nothing in particular, as old friends often do. Jak mostly listened, speaking only when spoken to first. They didn't mind; after spending the first decade and a half of his life without saying a word, Daxter and Keira were glad that Jak said anything at all, even if it wasn't much. Jak was grateful that they hadn't yet asked him why he'd remained mute for so long, as even _he_ didn't know. And to think it had been that bastard Praxis who'd forced the first words from Jak's mouth; he'd probably still be mute if the Baron hadn't…

Jak quickly forced such thoughts from his mind. "Where's Sig?" he asked.

Tess shrugged. "He's off looking for Metal Heads, of course. Says that this sudden quiet is making him uneasy – that the Metal Heads should still be putting up some sort of fight. I think he's just being paranoid."

_So Sig noticed it, too?_ It made Jak feel better that he wasn't the only one. As he picked up his half-empty glass once again, it almost seemed inevitable that a shiver ran up and down his spine as the dark Eco inside him stirred to life. In less than a second, Jak had slammed his glass down and was halfway across the bar. He was _not_ going to let whatever-it-was get away this time.

"Jak! What's the matter?" Keira asked, confused.

"I'll be right back," he replied hurriedly.

"Whoa! Hold on there, Jak!" Daxter said, leaping from the counter and scurrying to catch Jak. "You're not going anywhere without _me._" He leapt onto Jak's shoulder, struggling a bit to maintain his balance as Jak hopped over the threshold and took a sharp left. There was no hesitation in Jak's step as he ran down the street and took another left; his dark Eco was like a compass needle pointing him unerringly towards his target. "What's the big hurry?"

Instead of responding, Jak sped up until he was nearly sprinting. He was getting closer; he could feel it. As he turned down a side street, Jak spotted a small, hooded figure darting down an alley. He didn't doubt that the figure was the source of the dark Eco. Slipping briefly on a slick patch of spilled oil, Jak followed the tiny person down the alley. "Wait!" he called out, a little out of breath. Either the figure didn't hear him or didn't care, because in the next instant it crawled into a ventilation shaft protruding from a building and disappeared from sight.

"Shit," Jak cursed under his breath, skidding to a stop in front of the two-foot-square shaft. Without thinking, he grabbed at the hem of the figure's cloak as it crawled away. The little person cried out, as if in pain, and turned to fend off her attacker. It happened in only a second, but the sight that greeted Jak in that second was seared into his memory. Though the person was no bigger than a small child, her skin was as wrinkled and leathery as someone well over eighty, and her long, braided hair was white as paper. To add to her bizarre appearance, the girl's skin was tinted a light but distinctive blue, and her wide, terrified eyes were bright violet.

Taken aback by the spectacle, Jak froze, his hand still firmly gripping the hem of the girl's frayed cloak. She squirmed frantically in the confined space, practically hyperventilating with fear, and batted at his hand in a feeble attempt to fight him off. Though her blows were so week that Jak barely felt them, as soon as she touched him a jolt of electricity coursed through his veins and a spark jumped from her hand to his. Surprised, he let go, and a second later the strange little girl was gone.

"Damn it!" Jak cursed. He briefly tried squeezing after her, but from the start it was an exercise in futility and he quickly gave up.

"Whoa!" Daxter gulped. "What the heck was _that!_ Was _that_ what's getting you all worked up?"

"Daxter! Did you bring that vial Riddik gave us? You can use it to track – "

"No-no-no, hold on there! First thing's first – what the heck _was_ that thing?"

Jak took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down; it was pointless to get angry at Daxter. Still... he'd been _so close_ to solving the mystery, but it had slipped from his grasp. But thinking about it now, it would have been stupid to send Daxter in after that strange girl, wouldn't it? What would he have done once he'd found her? It would have done Jak no good, in any case. That was what he told himself, anyway. "That girl – she had dark Eco inside her," he said at last, interrupting Daxter's nervous ranting.

"What? You sure?"

Jak clenched his fists, feeling the dark Eco in his veins settle as the girl moved further and further away. "Positive."

Daxter made a disgusted face. "Does that mean you'll end up looking like _that_ in ten years? Ew! I'll have to find a new ride – no offense, Jak, but I spend a lot of time getting extreme close-ups of your face, and it's hard enough as it is _without_ all the wrinkles."

Ignoring the friendly insult, Jak hit the wall in a halfhearted display of frustration, and walked back to the Naughty Ottsel. Instead of going inside, however, Jak climbed on his zoomer and started back towards the castle.

Daxter watched the glowing Ottsel mascot recede into the distance with growing apprehension. "Ummm… beer and babes are _that_ way, Jak," he said, pointing at the Naughty Ottsel.

"I know."

"You're not going that way, Jak. Why aren't you going that way?"

"There's only one way that kid could have gotten dark Eco in her body," Jak replied, taking out his communicator and flipping it open. He dialed a number and held the communicator in front of him as it projected a small hologram of Ashelin's face.

"What is it, Jak?" Ashelin asked, her voice tinny over the small speaker.

"Ashelin, do you still have the Dark Soldier Project files in the castle's database?" Jak asked, his eyes darting quickly between the road and Ashelin's face.

"Yes. We haven't been able to gain access to all of them yet – the Baron put some nasty encryption programs on them."

"Send everything you've got to the port in my room. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Why? What do you need _that_ for?"

"Just do it. Please," Jak added as an afterthought before hanging up. He cranked open the throttle and squinted as the zoomer rocketed down the street at ever-faster speeds. It seemed that if he wanted to solve this little mystery, he would have to face some rather unpleasant memories._This will be fun._

_

* * *

_

Quick question – though romance will _not_ be a major part of the plot (I hope), I still want a little bit of romantic interaction between Jak and someone else, but I don't know who. So, I'll leave it to you guys. Who should be Jak's love interest in this fic – Keira? Ashelin? Torn? Someone else entirely? Hell, I don't care. I'll go with whatever the popular opinion is.


	4. chapter four

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this before – if anybody can guess where I got the character model for that freaky little dark Eco-girl, I'll give them a cookie and my eternal respect. …Mmmm… eternal respect…. (drools Homer-style) (Hint: Think old-school anime.)

* * *

The door swished silently shut behind Jak as he strode into his room at the Palace. As he was heir to the throne of Haven City, Ashelin would have gladly relinquished the imperial suite to him, but Jak declined in favor of more modest accommodations. Opulence never really suited him. Not bothering with the lights, Jak made straight for the room's terminal and turned it on. He pulled up a nearby chair and sat down as the holographic screen flickered to life and ran through the brief start-up routine. 

"Hey, you got any good eats in here?" Daxter asked, leaping from Jak's shoulder to the floor. He promptly started scouring the entirety of Jak's room. "My poor little tummy is rumbling louder than a yakkow with a bad case of gas. And would it kill ya to turn the lights on once in a while? Sheesh."

Jak blinked and squinted briefly as the lights suddenly flared to life, but his eyes did not leave the screen. A small icon flashed in the corner; that would be the data Ashelin sent. He touched the image; it opened to reveal several more icons, each representing different aspects of the Dark Soldier program. Now came the hardest part – where to start looking. _Subject rosters… That's as good a place to start as any._ Jak opened the file and was immediately bombarded by page after page of dense text. Though he was tempted to skim, Jak read each line carefully so he couldn't possibly miss a single clue. _Subject 14… Male, age 25… Test one, twenty units of Eco… test unsuccessful…_

The bile rose in Jak's throat as he read file after file. Though the data was as dull and dry as any mundane experiment, Jak knew all to well the horrific truth that lay between the lines. _Good God, there were so many people… so many…_He shook his head violently, banishing the unpleasant memories that were welling towards the surface. He couldn't get distracted; he needed to stay on-task if he wanted to figure out where that girl was from. And if she _was_ another victim of the Dark Soldier program, then maybe… _Maybe what?_ Jak asked himself. _Do you think she has a miraculous cure? From the way things looked, she needs your help more than you need hers._

But that was the point, wasn't it? Jak knew what it was like. He knew how it felt to have dark Eco running through one's veins. He knew how it seemed to tear away at one's very cells, how it engulfed one's body in an all-consuming fire. And Jak had it easy – there was something different about him, something about his body that allowed him to survive the exposure to dark Eco relatively unharmed. He couldn't even begin to imagine how horrific it was for others that weren't as "blessed" as him.

"Hey, whassat you got there?" Daxter asked, hopping on to the arm of Jak's chair with a yellow paopu fruit in one hand. He took a bite of the fruit and read the screen, chewing thoughtfully. "Guh! Booo-_ring!_" he yawned after a few seconds of silence. "Hope you don't mind if I crash here, Jak. It's been a long day; after all that politicking and blowing stuff up I'm just beat!" The little ottsel wolfed down the rest of the paopu before scurrying over to Jak's large four-poster bed and flopping down on one of the soft pillows. He was snoring just a few moments later, surprisingly loudly for a creature of his small size.

Ignoring his friend, Jak closed the subject roster and rubbed his eyes in a vain attempt to banish their tiredness. It _had_ been a long day, and his body was practically screaming for some rest. But he couldn't rest yet; he needed to find that girl, the one other person who had been through the same trials, the same torture. Finally, he'd found someone who could understand him. Jak stifled a yawn and opened the next file. However, it contained nothing but incomprehensible gibberish. _This must be what Ashelin meant by the encryption programs_, he realized. Though Jak had quickly picked up on Haven City's technology, which was amazingly advanced compared to Sandover Village, he still understood only the basics when it came to the computer system. If Ashelin's best technicians couldn't decode the programs, Jak certainly wouldn't be able to. He closed that file and opened a third.

Jak's breath caught in his throat. Before him, the screen displayed a large photo of a woman approximately his age, half-naked and strapped down to a metal table. Her hands and feet were charred and blackened, the skin splitting open from the heat of the dark Eco injected into her body. Blood trickled from her ears, mouth, and even her eyes. Her gaze was blank and lifeless, yet she seemed to look right at Jak through the lens of the camera.

He stared in horror, utterly motionless, for several seconds before he snapped out of his revolted trance and noticed a brief description next to the photograph. _Subject number 7, test 5. Severe burning on subject's extremities is the result of Eco's exothermic reaction as it mixed with the subject's cellular structure… _Jak quickly moved on to the next picture. Next was the image of a small boy, no more than twelve years old, whose veins were colored a ghastly shade of violet, and who had ugly, bruise-like discolorations all over his face and body. _Subject number 20, test 3. Discoloration of subject's skin possibly caused by Eco rupturing subject's capillaries and absorbing into muscle tissue. Coloration of subject's circulatory system unique; further testing recommended._

Image after horrific image assaulted Jak as he scrolled through the file. He didn't want to see the atrocities, yet he couldn't turn away; some vile curiosity compelled him to keep looking, as much as it nauseated him. They were all young – none of them looked older than twenty-five – and some appeared only six or seven years old. There were a few young girls who looked similar to the aged creature Jak had seen, but none shared the distinctive bluish skin and white hair, and Jak hadn't gotten a good enough look at the girl to be sure that one of them was her. He jotted down the numbers of the pictures that might be significant and kept looking.

Suddenly, he came upon a photograph that made him pause. The boy in the picture looked familiar to Jak, though the kid's face was beaten almost beyond recognition. He peered more closely at the prone, unconscious figure. Lean, a bit on the short side, with an angular face and blonde hair, though it was green at the roots…

_Holy shit!_ Jak stood so quickly that his chair toppled over backwards. _That… that's me!_ He slammed his fist on the terminal's control panel, and the image of him disappeared as the screen flickered off. Jak's heart pounded in his ears as he stood in a sort of daze. _Those bruises… it must have been right after I tried to escape…_ Memories of that experience – and the brutal punishment that had followed – flooded Jak's mind, and he squeezed his eyes shut against them. _I should have guessed that I'd be in there. It makes sense, after all._ Even so, Jak couldn't stomach looking through any more of the Dark Soldier files. Not for a while.

He turned off the light and felt his way through the darkness to his bed, peeling off his clothes in the process and leaving them in a trail across the floor. The maid could clean up after him tomorrow; it was her job, after all. Jak put out his hand and felt something warm and furry. He gently picked up Daxter and moved the snoozing ottsel to the other side of the bed, which caused Dax to stir briefly. "…I'll have… one of… those…" he muttered as he fell back asleep.

Jak hadn't expected to get much sleep, and, as the hours dragged by, he found that he'd assumed correctly. Though he was absolutely exhausted, his mind reeled from all that he'd just seen. He'd never assumed that he was the only person subjected to the Baron's dark Eco experiments, but the sheer magnitude of the Dark Soldier program was astonishing. There must have been well over a hundred victims depicted in those rosters and photographs, and no doubt many more would be uncovered once the rest of the data was decrypted.

When the Baron had held him captive for those two long years, Jak had never seen another prisoner. Oh, he'd known they were there – he could hear their screams of pain day and night – but as the months crawled by it had become nothing more than background noise, no more important or interesting than the drone of traffic outside. This new information gave those screams faces, made them human again despite the project's best efforts to reduce them to mere numbers. _They had names. They had lives, families…_

Rolling on to his side, Jak resisted the urge to punch the pillow beside him angrily because Daxter was there. Killing the Baron was supposed to have _ended_ this nightmare, not revive it! He switched to his other side; the jostling of the mattress roused Daxter, who yawned and snuggled up against the nape of Jak's neck. Sighing, Jak reached behind him and scratched the top of Daxter's head absently, more out of habit than affection. Though his mind still buzzed with activity, he forced it to quiet and closed his eyes. He knew he had to sleep, though he dreaded what his dreams would bring.

* * *

Awww, they're so cute sleeping together like that! (Don't worry, this is NOT going to be a Jak/Dax slash!) Anyway, I have to say that the… um… _details_ of the Dark Soldier project were partially inspired by Krin and her fic "Taetra Mussala." All bow to Krin! She's a writing genius! 


End file.
